


what if you were red coded and i was blue coded haha jk... unless?

by sp4ce4ge



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Arranged Marriage, Enemies to Lovers, LGBTQ Characters, Modern Royalty, Multi, Other, i’m not a writer and this is some self indulgent bullshit i hope you enjoy, no straights allowed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:01:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29947629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp4ce4ge/pseuds/sp4ce4ge
Summary: With Omegas only making up 25% of the population, finding a non prime omega is hard enough. Alpha princess Darcy has to convince the only available prime omega, Andy Galloway, to agree to marriage otherwise the royal bloodline is doomed. No pressure.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Non Binary Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prime omegas and prime alphas have stronger scents and heats/ruts but are also more conscious during them which is why prime alphas are considered the best leaders. Other than that it’s pretty standard a/b/o stuff. :3

“Are you sure this is the best idea? The Galloway family is not of noble descent. While they are respected for their ingenuity, there will be pushback for this from the rest of the elite,” Brian Philipson, the Queen’s most trusted royal advisor, reminded her. He knew her mind was set, but if this managed to blow up in her face he was not going to be taking the blame.

“If you can find another prime omega in decent standing, then let me know because I am open to suggestions, but so far this is our only option. If the next heir born to the throne is not a prime alpha, the pushback will be much worse. No family of noble blood has managed to produce a prime omega this generation, hell, we have only found the gene sequence responsible this decade. Darcy is almost twenty years of age, if we do not start acting now, we will have even fewer options. The Galloway’s youngest will do fine, I am sure of this,” Queen Victoria said decisively her spine straight and her emerald green eyes looking at her advisor almost in challenge.

The alpha’s tone and posture left no room for argument so Brian submitted, bowing his head and turning his brown eyes to the floor.

“Of course your majesty,” 

“Wonderful! We will have to consult with the Galloway’s of course, I have heard their youngest is quite... stubborn. Edgewood’s exams are coming up soon, so after that would probably be the best time to approach with a proposal,” she said, starting to ramble about proper proceedings for arranging marriage. 

Brian simply huffed to himself as he began to write down what the Queen was saying. He ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair, thinking about the situation they had found themselves in. It’s easy to breed a prime alpha; all you need is a prime omega and a prime alpha—more recently it was discovered that an omega carrying a prime alpha gene and a prime omega can actually result in a prime alpha, which was previously thought to be a myth or a fluke—but prime omegas are... tricky. Further genetic research has shed light on what was previously thought to be entirely random; prime omegas are born from two betas or a beta and an omega that both carry the prime omega gene. It’s double recessive which is why they’re so rare, along with prime alphas. Unfortunately this new information was not found in time for any noble family to make a suitable mate for the princess. 

To be honest, Brian cares less about the actual standing of the Galloways. The Galloway family has enough good standing as the primary leader in structural infrastructure in the country that the only pushback will be from the most insufferable of the elites. His issue with the union lies in the fact that as non nobles they have less alliance with the crown and tradition; there’s a very real possibility Andy Galloway could say no, leaving them with no good options for the princesses mate. Brian has had very limited interaction with Andy, as is the same with most nineteen year olds, so he only knows three things about them: they have a promising academic career, they are a prime omega, and they do not like it when people know that they are a prime omega. The only reason Brian and Victoria know about Andy’s status is because their grandfather, Henry Galloway, disclosed this information to Brian in passing. Henry had the same idea they had, but he was much more realistic in that there was a small chance Andy and their parents would agree to an arranged marriage.

The Queen however, was more optimistic, so even bringing up Andy’s probable hesitation would get them nowhere. The Galloway’s were reasonable people though, and perhaps some kind of agreement can be made.

——————————————————————————

“Fuck no,”

“Andy—“

“Absolutely not,”

“Could you at least—“

“I’m not getting married to some random alpha I don’t even know! Are you seriously telling me you think this is a good idea? I haven’t even finished college! You want me to get married? I still don’t know how the dishwasher works!”

“You just insert the pod and then—God give me strength, okay,” Sarah Galloway pinched her forehead as she tried to get her child to see some kind of reason. 

“If your issue is that you have yet to meet Princess Darcy, then perhaps we could—“  
Brian started trying to approach this diplomatically, but he was silenced by two silver eyed glares. 

“Andy, you know how... special... you are as a prime omega. Can you please appreciate the bigger picture here and put aside your whole,” she gestured to Andy’s entire self. 

“Ooooh the ‘bigger picture,’” Andy mocked, “it’s my life, not yours, or hers, or his,” they said pointing to Brian who jumped a little at the accusation “If Darcy Braeburn wants me to be her omega she could at least have the fucking curtesy to ask me herself!” they finished with a huff, blowing their blond hair out of their face.

“Well... language aside, they have a point, where is Darcy in all this,” Mrs. Galloway said looking pointedly at Brian.

“She, uh, has not been informed of this development yet, but if that’s what you want, you will have it,” Brian said, almost surprised that he isn’t being left with a flat “no,” plus if Darcy gets rejected, she has to be the one to tell Queen Victoria that they need a new plan.

“That is what I want,” Andy said defiantly, arms crossed and looking pretty proud of themself for someone who ultimately accomplished nothing.

Darcy had been brought up with the idea that she would ultimately be marrying someone her mother picked out for her, so while she would not be opposed to it, she had not been told just yet that her mother had picked out Andy Galloway as her omega. This was mostly done to prevent Darcy from reaching out herself as the two both attend Edgewood university and Darcy tends to lack... tact when it comes to more sensitive matters of the heart. Of course this was ultimately completely unnecessary, but you can’t blame a man for trying.

Andy returned to their room feeling victorious despite their absence of victory and Mrs. Galloway politely offered Brian a blueberry muffin before escorting him to the door. Now all he needed was for the princess to finish this. Or start this. Whatever.


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m gonna be honest with you here, your optimism is scaring me a bit,” Fiona tells her charge. She looks over at Genevieve who is sitting on Darcy’s bed, looking very concerned for the princess’s sanity.

“Me and Andy were in the same English class, they’re just shy! I’m sure if I simply explain that I need them to marry me, things will go fine!” Darcy says as she pulled back her fiery red hair into a ponytail, “Surely they can see the importance this holds.”

“Please tell me you aren’t going to let her do this” Genevieve pleas to Fiona.

“Oh I am absolutely letting this happen,”

“You also have a stake in this, let me remind you,” Genevieve replies, the beta glaring daggers at the brown eyed alpha.

“I’m her bodyguard, not her babysitter. If you want to tell her how to talk to omegas, by all means, go ahead, but leave me out of it,” Fiona says, meeting the beta’s glare with total nonchalance.

“If she gets punched by an omega it’s definitely going to be your problem,” Genevieve huffs, brushing brown hair out her eyes.

“I am standing right here,” Darcy says, “Look, despite what you may think, I know what I’m doing here. Stop psyching me out!”

Genevieve and Fiona relent, despite both being assured that Darcy, in fact, has no idea what she is doing. This was in her hands and if she wants to fumble it, it’s her call. Although, as a royal advisor in training, Genevieve was doing a rather poor job of advising her royal, but that’s neither here nor there. 

Darcy is blinded by her own importance, as most royals are want to be. At this very moment she could not seem to think of why someone would not want to agree to a marriage of this sort of stature.

——————————————————————————

Oh right. People normally get married for love, Darcy thinks, looking down nervously at the slightly angry blond omega in front of them. Their scent of roses and vanilla was slightly sour in turn with their mood, which was unnerving. Darcy suddenly regrets simply showing up to the Galloway household instead of planning a proper meeting because right now she was just standing awkwardly in the front doorway. Andy did not seem to want to invite her inside, so the conversation will have to happen out here. Not to be deterred, Darcy pushes forward into conversation.

“So, I didn’t know you were a prime omega,” she says trying to get straight to the point, pulling at the collar of her black button down, as if the December breeze was what was making her sweat. 

“Yeah, I prefer to keep it that way,” Andy glares at the alpha.

“May I ask why?” Darcy soldiers on, somewhat stupidly.

“Because I don’t like alphas looking at me like that,” they say

“Like what?” 

“Like I’m some kind of prize to be won,” Andy says dryly, contempt evident in their voice, scent souring even further.

Ah Fuck.

“How do you even know who I am?” Andy continues as Darcy blinks in suprise. 

“Well, we were in the same class together, I don’t see how I wouldn’t remember you just from that. You sat right in front of me, you had this, uh, cute unicorn pen” Darcy says, smiling, trying to placate them with politeness. 

It seemed to work, if only slightly, as Andy went from glaring to just eyeing Darcy warily, silver meeting emerald.

Seeing that this was going to be harder than she first thought, the alpha decides to cut right to the chase.

“Okay look, I know you’re adverse to my proposal—“

“An understatement.”

“But,” Darcy continues, tone slightly harsh in annoyance “Surely we can come to some kind of agreement. I need to marry a prime omega, the royal bloodline is at stake, and so far you’re my best option. There must be some way for you to give me a chance, and if you’re sure you absolutely detest me, we call it off,”

“You mean like dating, because that’s literally just dating. You see if you like someone first before you marry them, like how normal people do,” Andy says with a mocking lilt in their voice.

“I mean, yes somewhat like dating, but we don’t have time for dating. Maybe like... a trial run?” Darcy posited.

“What like... I give you a year where we’re fake married and if I still hate the idea of being married to you after that, you shut up and leave me alone,” the omega explained, seeming pretty amused at the prospect of Darcy shutting up and leaving them alone.

“Yes! Exactly like that! You come live at the castle for a year and see that it’s actually not that bad, that I’m not so bad,” Darcy said, like any of this was her idea. 

Andy thought through this pensively. They had very little to lose by doing this, and they were certain a flat “no” would only garner more harassment—they did attend the same university—but a whole year? At least the princess wasn’t terrible to look at—her scent was kind of nice too, almost woodsy—even if she did seem the same as every other noble they had encountered.

“I have one condition,” Andy decided looking a tad displeased with themselves for conceding, “I don’t want anyone from school knowing about, we keep this strictly between us,”

“Uh, may I ask why?” Darcy replies, startled that Andy was actually agreeing to this.

“I have a hard enough time with nobles, I don’t need them in my business, and I don’t want anyone thinking that there is something between us when there isn’t,” Andy huffs.

“Oh, alright then? I suppose I’ll just tell my staff to keep things quiet and, well I suppose you wouldn’t like interacting with castle guests to begin with so... it’s doable,” Darcy said, starting to mumble about details and rooming situations. 

“Okay are we done here then?” Fiona said, reminding the two that she was still standing out on the walkway while they were talking on the Galloway’s porch.

“Oh! Yes! Apologies!” Darcy replied hurriedly as her train of thought was derailed, “I’ll contact you with further details, Andy. I promise you won’t regret this.”

Bold words to say to someone who was already regretting this. Darcy and Fiona hopped into the princess’s personal limousine and drove off while Andy was still standing in the wooden doorway wondering what they had gotten themself into. They really hope Cameron doesn’t find out about all of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this for fun so don’t expect it to be good and don’t expect a consistent schedule. i’m not opposed to a beta reader tho


	3. Chapter 3

Andy is half asleep as the sun from the window began to hit their face. They are more comfortable than they have been in a while, snuggled up under blankets and pressing up against something soft and warm. They nuzzle deeper into that sweet smell of pine and—goddammit, it’s Darcy. Andy immediately scoots back, almost drowning in the comforter as they go to sit up. It’s a king sized bed, how the hell did they end up right next to her? Andy fumbles with blankets for a bit before smacking themself full force in the face.

“Where are my glasses?”

“Bedside table,” Darcy mumbles from beside them, still dazed by sleep.

Part of the “trial run,” as Darcy has been calling it, involves them sharing a bed. Andy does get the bed to themself during their heats, but any other day for the next year will be something like this. 

“Everything alright?” Darcy asks, propping herself up on her elbow to look over at Andy’s blundering.

“Peachy,” they respond flatly, feeling very out of their element.

At least when winter break ends they’ll have class to go to, but being stuck in the castle for the past couple days has been jarring for Andy, to say the least. Darcy has told them on multiple occasions that they can leave whenever they want, but the requires asking either Fiona or Duke for a ride, and Andy finds them both to be rather... intimidating. Duke is just a beta so less so, but he’s still one of the princesses bodyguards; he could probably kill Andy with his bare hands. 

For now Andy pulls out their phone and flops back into the mess of sheets beneath them as Darcy rolls over to go back to sleep. 

Andy’s best friend Quin had asked them for another daily update—her and Ryan are the only two Andy felt comfortable telling about the whole... situation—so Andy just sends a paragraph talking about unnecessarily big rooms and high ceilings, inefficient use of space, etc. They’re about to call it and get up for breakfast before they see that they have another unopened text. It’s from Cameron Hamilton. She wanted to know where Andy’s been because she hasn’t seen them in a while. Their heart starts thumping in their chest and Andy has to stop themself from actually swooning.

Cameron is the alpha that Andy actually wants to be with. She’s all pretty and athletic, with this long raven hair, caramel colored eyes, tan skin... Andy can’t get her out of their head. That’s why Andy didn’t want people finding out about this arrangement. They don’t want Cameron to think that Darcy is actually Andy’s alpha when they’re only doing this to get Darcy off their case. 

Andy giddily sends a text about how they’ve been focusing on school related stuff and haven’t been out and about as of late. Another good thing about the new semester is that Cameron also goes to Edgewood University. Most of the elites send their children there, and Cameron’s mom is the captain of the royal guard. Andy got in more on academics than by the power of their family name—which is more preferable for them, they don’t like the types that put so much on their last names—but Cameron is much cooler than the noble bloods that also go to Edgewood, at least in Andy’s eyes. 

While Andy is starring at the bubble that shows Cameron is typing something in response, Duke barges in.

“It’s almost ten, you two should be up by now,” he says looking more at Darcy who’s actually still asleep.

After some grumbling and a thrown pillow, the three of them head down to the kitchen where pancakes and scrambled eggs are waiting for them. It’s a Saturday in addition to it being winter break, so Darcy doesn’t have any kind of tutoring or meetings to sit in on. She offers to take Andy into the city for the day which they readily accept. They doubt the crowned princess will take them to the skatepark or anything like that, but they just want to go somewhere that’s not here. That’s not to say Andy doesn’t get a kick out of exploring this huge palace, but they’re always worried that they’re gonna run into some important type when all they want is a nice couch to sit on while they play Splatoon. It’s stressful to think that they could turn the corner and bump into some important ambassador and accidentally start WW3 because they offended him or something. So following the princess to wherever she deems to be fun seems like a much saner and safer time. Of course that means that Andy will have to continue texting Cameron later, no doubt Darcy will take offense to them texting another alpha especially when they’re on a “date.”

——————————————————————————

Darcy definitely prefers Andy’s scent when they’re not mad at her. With them sitting next to each other in the back of the limousine Darcy doesn’t even have to lean in to smell their sweet airy scent. It’s crazy to think of how this is Andy’s scent with scent blockers. Darcy takes mild scent blockers just to be polite—as a prime alpha her scent can be overpowering—but Andy takes rather strong ones to fully hide their status as a prime omega. Still, Darcy is thankful that it makes them rather easy to read since her job right now is to keep the omega happy with her, as difficult as that may be. 

Darcy of course doesn’t hold contempt towards Andy—she barely holds contempt towards anyone—she simply wishes Andy would be less... needlessly disagreeable. She is somewhat fond of the omega despite not being incredibly familiar with them. Darcy knows from being in the same class as them that they’re kind and clever, they’re just a bit of a loner—if only they’d actually let Darcy in. For now Darcy has decided to heed some of Genevieve’s advice: “Let Andy engage at their own speed. They’re like a cat, you have to be patient and give them space before they’ll come to you.” Let it be said that Genevieve is a good advisor when Darcy decides to actually listen to her. 

Currently, Darcy is happy that Andy accepted her offer to go out. For now they’re just going to an art museum that Darcy is fond of because she doesn’t really know where Andy would like to go. She does know they like drawing, so she figures they can appreciate the art for arts sake. Of course, Darcy could ask Andy where they want to go, but that hasn’t occurred her just yet. She’s too determined to impress Andy that she hasn’t quite remembered that relationships are about communication first and foremost.

——————————————————————————

“So why are you both here?” Andy says to Duke and Fiona as they exit the limo.

“Because there’s two of you?” Fiona replies, not quite understanding what is being asked.

Duke, however, seems to be able to pick up on the underlying question Andy is asking.

“You’re acting as the princess’s omega, which means you require the same protection she gets,” he stats very matter of factly. 

Andy bites back a retort about how they’re not actually Darcy’s omega as they can tell this is not up for debate and instead decides to follow Duke and Darcy into the museum as Fiona brings up the rear. 

Unfortunately, Andy doesn’t actually have much to complain about as they wander the museum. Since they have their own bodyguard, they are free to move about as they please. The Van Gogh exhibit is currently holding their attention as the museum currently has a couple originals for the time being. They’re busy contemplating how to possibly integrate Van Gogh’s dot style into a digital medium when they get the feeling of being watched. 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Darcy asks from behind them.

“I suppose,” Andy says in response, almost disappointed that they can’t be completely miserable in Darcy’s presence, but Darcy only laughs a little in response and invites Andy to come see Darcy’s favorite painting. The omega’s curiosity gets the best of them and they follow Darcy into the Georges Seurat area, where they stop in front of the famous painting: “A Sunday Afternoon on The Island of La Grande Jatte.”

Darcy pipes up after a few beats of silence, “It’s a tad cliche I know, but it looks so pleasant and simple. Makes me miss the summertime,” she pauses for a moment in contemplation, “You should really see the castle in June, that’s when the roses in the garden are in full bloom.” Her tone is almost wistful as she looks over at Andy smiling. And as much as Andy wants to hate everything about Darcy just to prove that this was a stupid idea, they can’t help but give a small smile in return at the warmth in Darcy’s eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

“Do... you want me to hold your hand?” Andy asks Duke as he tries, and once again fails, to get both his feet on the skateboard. The beta simply glares back, his lapis colored eyes quickly silencing them.

“You said this was easy,” he huffs, unstrapping his borrowed helmet and handing it back to Andy.

“It is easy, all you do is stand on the board,” Andy replies demonstrating how easy it is by getting on the skateboard themself, “The hard part is literally everything that isn’t that.”

“I think I’ll leave this to you then. Wear your helmet though, if you bust your ass it’s on me.” Duke says, words more harsh than his more neutral tone.

Andy simply waves him off as they strap on their helmet and skate over to one of the ramps at the small skatepark. They had started warming up to the other castle residents, so they felt a bit more comfortable about asking for rides into the city. They didn’t feel nearly comfortable enough to call Duke a patsy for his failed skating attempt, but progress is progress. They had only gone to the skatepark and to the mall with Quinn so far, but with the new semester still being two weeks away, Andy was getting more and more antsy being stuck in the castle.

——————————————————————————

Duke wasn’t a fan of the skatepark. Not because he couldn’t get on a board, that he doesn’t care about unless he finds out that Fiona is some kind of skating expert. He’ll have to ask her later. But no, Duke is just worried that Andy is gonna come back to the castle all scraped up and Darcy is gonna kick his ass. The omega is pretty adamant about the fact that Darcy isn’t their alpha and all that, but she kind of is right now. At least until next January, Andy Galloway might as well have a sticker on them that says “If lost return to Princess Darcy,” as much as they may continue to deny it. 

So Duke has to make sure Andy doesn’t kill themself in some kind of skateboarding related accident every time they come here. Andy has been playing it pretty safe for the past hour, but they’ve been trying to land this trick for the past five minutes and their stumbles are starting to get a lot less coordinated. Every barely stopped fall takes another year off of Duke’s life. He should really tell them to—

“Oh fuck,” he shouts as Andy tumbles onto the pavement, no doubt scraping up their hands and possibly even their face. Duke scrambled to help them up and assess the damages.

“Calm down, nothings broken,” Andy says waving him off as they begin to stand up. That was when they notice that the knee of Andy’s jeans is all torn up and their knee is bleeding pretty badly.

“Okay, yeah, maybe lets call it quits for today,” Andy relents laughing nervously at the sight of their own blood. 

“Yeah, no shit,” Duke replies, slightly frustrated with Andy’s antics, but he helps them back into the car regardless and gives them some tissues from the glovebox to stop some of the bleeding.

“Darcy’s gonna kill me,” he mumbles to himself, which earns a glare from the omega beside him. 

“She’s not the boss of me,” Andy responds sharply.

“Well she’s the boss of me and I let you get hurt,” he amends.

“You didn’t ‘let’ me do anything! I got hurt of my own accord,” Andy says starting to get frustrated. 

Duke simply huffs and starts driving to the castle as sour notes of rose petals and vanilla fill up his Dodge Charger. Andy may have a point, but even so he doubts Darcy is going to be happy with either of them for this. 

——————————————————————————

“What the hell happened?” Darcy says the moment Duke and Andy enter the lounge area. 

“I just took a bad fall on my skateboard, it’s not as bad as it looks,” Andy huffs, annoyance clear in their tone. They also make an attempt at looking disaffected while holding bloody tissue to their knee, but the bent over posture that requires makes it nigh impossible.

Darcy only narrows her eyes and looks over to Duke who’s doing his best to ignore her piercing emerald gaze. Darcy eventually relents and sighs to herself. She decides it’d be best to deal with the bloodied up omega first and get upset with the two of them later. 

“Duke go get me a first aid kit. Andy sit up on the counter so I can see how bad it is,” Darcy orders, clearing a space on the small bar counter by the wall. 

“I can patch myself up thank you very much,” Andy retorts, about to walk off until Darcy sharpens her pine and coffee scent, makes it abundantly clear that she’s not having it right now. Andy huffs for a moment before bowing their head in submission and hopping on the counter, pouting as Duke returns with the first aid kit and quickly hurries out.

“I’m only trying to make sure you’re okay, you don’t have to fight everything I do, you know,” Darcy says as she rubs antiseptic over the scrape on Andy’s cheek causing them to flinch a little at the sting. The alpha mumbles an apology before looking at the mess on the omega’s left knee. 

“You’re gonna have to take off your jeans so I can get a better look at that,” Darcy says as Andy breaks out into a bright red flush.

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t mean it like that, calm down!” She amends quickly in response to the omegas outburst, “I won’t look and I can give you a blanket to put on your lap if that would make you feel better,”

Andy huffs and looks away mumbling something along the lines of “You better not look,” before doing what the alpha asked. Andy’s legs are shaking and Darcy can’t tell if it’s because of the cold or if they are somehow nervous, but either way she has to hold their leg steady while she daps rubbing alcohol on the wound. Andy hisses at the much more present burn as Darcy repeats apologies, trying to release calming pheromones to ease the omegas stress.

“You really don’t have to be so difficult,” Darcy mumbles as she wraps a bandage around Andy’s knee.

“If I wasn’t, you’d think you could do whatever you want with me,” Andy responds, “You’re not my alpha and this is only temporary,”

“I’m well aware of our situation, Andy,” Darcy says, slightly hurt at the accusation that she’d take advantage of the omega, “I very much respect your boundaries, but I’d prefer if you could just talk to me instead,”

“Fine, I don’t like it when you act like you’re in charge of me,” Andy relents a little.

“I only do that because you won’t listen to me otherwise. I’ll stop, but you do have to meet me in the middle here a little,” Darcy says with a small smile as she puts a flowery bandage on Andy’s cheek.

“Alright,” Andy huffs in return. Baby steps, Darcy thinks to herself, baby steps.


	5. Chapter 5

“Anyways, that’s how I learned about Senator McKay’s foot fetish,” Gabriel explains as he carefully carves tomatoes into roses.

Andy hummed in amusement from their perch on the kitchen counter. As the apprentice to the castle’s head chef, Gabriel is privy to a lot of “insider info,” so Andy finds him fun to hang around. That, and the free samples, Andy considers as they pick up a cucumber garnish and nibble on it.

Gabriel starts talking about a weird encounter he had with a congressman’s girlfriend when Andy gets a notification on their phone. Cameron had texted them. They try to hide their excited grin so Gabriel won’t get suspicious, but Andy eagerly swipes to open up the alpha’s message. 

It’s a simple inquiry, Cameron just wants to know what classes Andy is taking this semester, but the omega still finds their heart beating faster. Does Cameron want to see if they’re in any of the same classes? Does Cameron want to see them? Andy feels giddy as they grab a screenshot of their schedule to send over.

This excitement would not last it seems as Darcy’s tutor entered the kitchen looking rather displeased. Of course, the only times Andy had seen Miss Barkly, she looked displeased, but this was the only time it was directed solely at Andy.

“Young Galloway!” Miss Barkly says sharply, causing both omegas to straighten up in alarm.

“Uh, yes?” Andy asks.

“As her highnesses omega, you have many expectations to uphold. No doubt your upbringing has left you lacking in proper etiquette. Starting now, you will be joining the princess and her advisor to be in their lessons. Understood?” Miss Barkly says with a tone that leaves no room for argument.

That doesn’t stop rebuttals from building in Andy’s throat, mostly about how they aren’t Darcy’s omega but also taking offense to how their “upbringing” was being called into question. However, this was put to a stop by Gabriel jabbing Andy in the side with his elbow and looking rather pointedly at them. Andy deflates almost immediately and gets up to follow Miss Barkly to join Darcy and Genevieve. At least it won’t be too bad.

——————————————————————————

Fiona has no idea how Miss Barkly managed to get Andy from their flannel and jeans into a three piece suit without losing her patience. It’s a nice suit—black with red accents—but Andy made it abundantly clear the second they entered the ballroom that they weren’t happy about this. 

But, it wasn’t very hard for Fiona to tear her attention from the plights of their disgruntled omega as she was much more focused on her current dancing partner. Genevieve was wearing a lovely sea foam evening gown that contrasted very well with her tanner skin. Of course the look in the betas hazel eyes made it clear that Genevieve was not too pleased with the alpha checking her out, but Fiona only hummed in amusement as she continued moving the two of them through the steps of the waltz they were learning. Her partner’s subtle scent of fresh parchment and honey tea was a refreshing change of pace from Darcy’s pine and Duke’s cinnamon; she was hoping Miss B wouldn’t make them switch just yet.

Speaking of the other couple of dancers, Darcy and Andy were busy bickering through their waltz. It wasn’t hostile—the two had been getting along a tad better recently—but it was annoying. Apparently Darcy wanted to get tickets to some show later this year and Andy wasn’t having it.

“I’m not sitting through a three hour musical,”

“Les Miserables is a classic!”

“It’s a bore, if you’re dragging me to a broadway musical then it better be ‘Mean Girls’ or ‘Rent’ or I’m walking out,”

“I’m not seen ‘Mean Girls’ on Broadway without Erika Henningsen,”

Yeah... Fiona figured it was best to just tune them out. At least they weren’t actually upset with each other this time; they were just being stubborn and a little stupid. 

“We were never like that, right?” Genevieve asks, breaking Fiona’s train of thought.

The alpha only chuckles in response as she twirls her partner around. According to Duke, the two of them were equally insufferable before they started dating, but Genevieve doesn’t have to know about that.

——————————————————————————

“You do look rather dapper,” Darcy says to the disgruntled omega she’s dancing with. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. When this is over I’m burning this suit,” Andy responds looking away in an attempt to maintain their aloofness. The flush on their face ruined this attempt, but it seemed Darcy was polite enough to not mention that. 

Darcy was wearing a cobalt gown that had her looking very regal which—combined with the closeness the waltzing required—has Andy feeling very off kilter. At least they had managed to avoid stepping on the alpha’s toes so far. Andy is also a lot more familiar with Darcy’s scent by now after three weeks of living together, so they are starting to find the mix of pine trees and fresh espresso more comforting than annoying. 

Of course, once the new semester starts this coming Monday, Andy is going to have to wash off Darcy’s scent every morning because they don’t want anyone asking questions. Andy made it pretty clear to the alpha that they don’t want her scenting them, but being in her space and sleeping in her bed every day can’t help but leave traces of pine on the omegas skin and clothes.

Andy finally gets themself back together enough to look Darcy in the eyes and carry on their conversation. They just have to remind themselves that she’s only doing this because Andy is a prime omega. All Darcy cares about is their status.

“Maybe after this lesson we could go watch a movie in the lounge?” Darcy asks the omega as she leads them across the ballroom floor. 

“I guess that doesn’t sound terrible,” Andy relents, and after a moment they add, “but I’m picking the movie!”

Darcy only laughs in response, fully content to let them take the reigns if it pleases them.


	6. Chapter 6

“So do you think Andy and the princess are fucking?” Ryan leans forward to peak over the driver’s seat at Quinn.

“This is exactly why you’re sitting in the back seat,” Quinn replies, still eyeing the castle from her spot in the Honda Civic. She had never seen it this close up before, but since she’s the one that drives Andy to Edgewood for classes, she was given a special pass to get past the castle gates. It’s a modern castle since it was built in the 18th century—past the time when castles were actual forts—but since it still has towers and ramparts, it has an uncanny medieval feel to it. 

“Okay! Lets go,” Andy says climbing into the passenger seat with an obvious spring in their step. Their friends start to question their out of character enthusiasm until Quinn puts together the dots with the help of her and Andy’s last text conversation.

“Jesus, you haven’t let this go, have you? There’s a whole princess wanting to marry you and you’re still pining after Cameron?”  
Quinn asks with exasperation obvious in her tone. Andy needs some kind of reality check if they were still going after a taken alpha.

“But! She’s been texting me! And! She invited us to that end of semester party back in December,” Andy says excitedly, earning further exasperation from the two betas.

“Plus,” the omega adds with a giggle, “her and Jennifer are still on a break, so... she’s not taken, per say.”

This makes Quinn narrow her eyes a bit. Jennifer and Cameron had been on and off since high school, a break between the two doesn’t mean much. But... it is strange for Cameron to be initiating things with Andy. Quinn has a very bad feeling about all of this as much as she wants to be supportive of her friend. Cameron hangs around the same people that give Quinn, Andy and Ryan hell for not having “royal blood,” so she doesn’t exactly deserve the benefit of the doubt. Quinn makes eye contact with Ryan in the rear view mirror and he only shrugs in response. He won’t be any help. Typical.

——————————————————————————

“I’m sure you did so much over winter break,” Jennifer Rutherford says, getting perhaps too close to Darcy. The alpha tries to politely take a step back just because she’s familiar with how Jennifer will try to scent her and she can’t imagine Andy would let it go if she came home smelling like another omega at the end of the day.

“Ah, yes, I... uh,” Darcy blanks because everything she did over winter break had to do with Andy, who she’s not allowed to talk about. She supposes she can lie, but what’s a good lie?

“I went to a...snail sanctuary?” Darcy says as Fiona’s soul leaves her body.

“Oh cool!” Jennifer responds without thinking, preceding to ramble about her family’s trip to Italy. Wow. Darcy has never been more glad that most of her “friends” are total kiss asses and won’t question her at all. Fiona, however, will definitely not be letting her live this down. Right now her bodyguard just keeps mouthing “snail sanctuary” at the sky like it might eventually make sense. However, Darcy is saved from further embarrassment as her class is actually about to start, so she has to leave Jennifer and her mistakes behind as to not be late. 

Darcy enters the lecture hall and takes a seat next to two of her other associates: Patrick Hawthorn and Cameron Hamilton. She wouldn’t consider anyone from school to be her friend aside from Genevieve—and Andy now she supposes—but she is expected to keep up good relations with the noble’s children. 

The two alpha’s wave to Darcy as she sits down and Patrick, as usual, seems excited about something.

“It’s gonna be the album of the summer,” he exclaimed, banging his fists on his armrests.

“Well it’s January so...” Cameron deflects, clearly not having it.

“What?” Darcy asks.

“Eminem put out a new album last week,” explains Cameron as Patrick starts going on about the “intricacies of modern rap.”

Considering the last album Darcy listened to was Owl City’s “Ocean Eyes,” she has no idea what he’s talking about. So she smiles politely and tunes him out until their history professor shows up.

——————————————————————————

Andy was wandering around the quad while they waited for Quinn’s biology class to dismiss when they were distracted by a familiar citrusy scent. Fiona? 

“Hey. Darcy’s in a math lecture right now, so I figured I’d check in on you,” the alpha says once Andy notices her.

“I’m not a child, I don’t need checking in on,” Andy huffs.

“For the time being, you are royal by proxy, which means your safety is my responsibility,” Fiona reminds them, “Besides, you’re nineteen, you kind of are still a child,”

“You’re only 22!” Andy retorts.

Fiona is about to fire back about having a college degree when the two are interrupted.

“Galloway! Hey! I didn’t know you knew Fiona.” Cameron says bumping the omega’s shoulder affectionately.

“I was just returning something they dropped,” Fiona lies much more smoothly than Darcy had earlier.

“Well anyways, Andy, I’m having this get together at my house this weekend since my parents will be out of town, you should totally come. You can bring your beta friends too, if you want,” Cameron looks over to Fiona, “Darcy said she was too busy to come, but if you want to come by without her you can.”

“I’ll pass, thanks,” Fiona answers, looking over at Andy to see what their response would be.

“Oh yeah, that sounds dope!” Andy says to Cameron, ignoring the weird look Fiona was giving them in favor of the roguish grin on Cameron’s face.

“Awesome, I’ll text you the details!” she says as she heads off towards the student center.

“What are you doing?” Fiona asks the omega once Cameron leaves.

“What do you mean?” Andy counters sharply, clearly dodging the question.

“Surely you can’t expect me to not tell Darcy about this?” she asks after a couple beats of tense silence between the two.

“She’s not my alpha so I don’t see what she’d have to say about it,” the omega says as Fiona huffs. They’re clearly not going to get anywhere here. 

“Look, you can do your whole independent rebel thing all you want, but I’m not going to let you hurt my friend, okay,” the alpha says. Andy is surprised and a tad offended considering what Fiona’s implying. They’re also Darcy’s friend and they aren’t doing this to hurt her, it’s just that they aren’t actually romantically involved.

“I’ll tell her myself, okay, jeez. I still don’t plan on marrying her so I really don’t see why I’m not allowed to keep my options open,” Andy relents.

“As long as that’s all this is,” Fiona sighs.


End file.
